The Railway Series Shuffle
by ThomasZoey3000
Summary: Join Thomas and his friends from Sodor as they venture beyond the Island and to the wonderous world of Japan where they'll meet new engines, new friends, some from different worlds, and experience new adventures like never before.
1. Book 1 Story 1-The Wrong Boat

Well my friends, you have been awaiting the return of this series and now it's back, but with many changes. The reason for the rewrite is because many of the original stories I wrote up for the first two series were either unrealistic, or not written that well. This third version though will feature more realistic moments and more locations of Japan. For this first story though, it may seem like a regular Thomas story, but as we move along in the series, the Shuffle gang will come in, just don't ask of when that will be happening. One final note here is that the cover for this series will be drawn up hopefully before the fourth story of Book 1 is posted.

 _ **The Railway Series/Shuffle**_

 _ **Written by: ThomasZoey3000**_

 _ **(Based on the Ideas of the First Two Original Series)**_

 _ **Book No 1: Thomas and the Central Japan Railway**_

Dear Friends,

 _Thomas the Tank Engine has been on some incrediable adventures as of late, but they weren't on the Island of Sodor. When I went to speak with Thomas, he told me about his adventures in the wonderous country of Japan. "But the only Standard Gauge lines there are for the Bullet Trains, how could you keep up?" I asked him. Thomas laughed and explained everything to me, and now I hope you too will enjoy these stories of his adventures. And to think it all began with getting on the wrong boat._

The Author

 **Stories Included:**

-The Wrong Boat

-Street Running

-The Sushi Train

-The Little Heroine

 _ **The Wrong Boat**_

The Ffarquhar Branch line was becoming busier than ever. With the addition of Toby's Vintage train, visitors were coming by the dozens to see the line and the engines that run along it's tracks. The more visitors that came though meant a slight delay as more coaches would have to be found to fit them all in. To make matters worse, the goods traffic was increasing and the single tracked branch line was starting to fall behind.

"If this keeps up," groaned Annie, "then that will mean the Fat Controller will shut down our branch line."

"Don't be silly," chuckled Thomas, "this branch line is the most important part of the whole railway, there's no reason for the Fat Controller to shut it down."

"Besides," added the Driver, "we provide services for the branch. I'm sure the Fat Controller will come up with something to help us."

As indeed he did. It was announced in the spring of 2008 that the branch line would become double tracked, turntables would be added in, bigger yards would be installed and the branch would go to the town of Ulfstead, which for many years only got it's goods from the lorries and cars that came into the town.

Percy was a little worried though, "how can we get across the big gorge? It's far too long for a regular bridge."

"You'll just have to wait and see to find out," said his Driver, "but for now, our focus is to double-track the branch."

To help with the workloads on the branch line, the Fat Controller brought in a USA built dock tank engine named Rosie. When she arrived, she was in black paint with the words 'Southern' on the sides of her tanks. However, after a couple of weeks, the Fat Controller sent her to the works to be repainted blue with red stripes like Edward, Gordon and Thomas. James of course complained that there were too many blue engines, but no one payed attention to his rants.

Ballast was also provided by the Small Railway. They brought the ballast down from the hills, load it into the Little Western's trucks, then Duck, Oliver, Donald or Douglas would take it as far as the junction where either Rosie or Percy would collect it.

The work meant some delays at first, but once the new rails started to go down, the workloads became much easier to deal with.

One evening, Thomas arrived at the junction with Annie and Clarabel. His passengers got off and boarded Henry's train. The Fat Controller was also on the platform, "so Thomas, I hear things are going quite well on the branch line."

"So far so good Sir," Thomas smiled, "we might even finish before Winter."

"We'll see Thomas," chuckled the Fat Controller. "Now before you head off for Ffarquhar, I like to let you know that there is a gathering of steam engines in Ontario Canada, and they would like you to join them."

"Me sir? But why?"

"Well they know all about you from the Thin Clergyman's books and the Television series, and they believe having you there will make the gathering a great success."

"But Sir, we have enough work on our buffers as it is, can't they use one of the Thomas replicas they use for the Day Out with Thomas events?"

The Fat Controller shook his head, "sorry Thomas, but they wanted the real you there. But don't worry, this event won't take too long and you'll be back here in no time. Edward can handle your work until then."

Thomas gave in then, he knew it wasn't wise to argue with a Controller.

Later that evening, Thomas' firebox was cleaned out and he was given a good rub-down by his crew, "you'll need to look your best for the journey Thomas," said the Driver. "We can't have you turn up with cinders and ashes all over you now can we?"

"No I guess not," chuckled Thomas before he let out a big yawn. "Oh well, at least I'll see some new places for a change."

"That's the spirit," smiled the fireman.

They soon finished and left for home. Thomas slept on through the night, dreaming of some of the sights he might see in Canada.

He was still sleeping when something buffered up to him the next morning. It was Daisy, she was going to take Thomas to the junction, then another engine would take him to the harbour at Tidmouth.

"Right then Thomas, let's get a move on, no holding back understood?"

Thomas raised a sleepy eyebrow, "what do you think I am? A truck? I won't hold back, I know I have to be a credit to the Fat Controller and the North Western."

At first, Thomas slept through the journey, but soon found himself wide awake as he was pulled down to the docks by BoCo. They passed through stations, yards and a new container yard near the Big Station. A small tank engine was in charge there.

"Uh BoCo, who is that engine?" Thomas asked curiously.

"Well Thomas, that is Clive, he's from the LMS, a 2MT I believe. He was spared from scrap years ago and placed in the Vicarstown museum where he's been until recently when the Fat Controller opened this yard and needed an engine to run it. Clive seemed to be the best engine for the job."

Thomas made a mental note to himself to speak with the new engine when he got back.

The journey was good and uneventful, but Thomas soon found himself bored as he waited for his ship. Soon two of them arrived, one was for Ontario Canada, and another was for Tokyo Japan. The foreman was walking out with some papers on a clipboard, "sorry to keep you waiting Thomas, we'll soon have you on the move..." but he didn't finish as he tripped over a rail. He managed to stay upright, but the clipboard fell onto the wet pier. It was mostly dry, but there were some wet spots, including on the name of the ship.

"Right, uh..." the foreman squinted his eyes to see the name better. "Right, the Crystal Boat, bound for Canada. Take him up!"

The crane operator above responded with a wave, and Thomas was soon lifted off the ground. The foreman then directed the crane operator to the boat he believed was Thomas'. Once lowered inside, the workers tied Thomas down to keep him from moving about.

"Canada, here I come," cheered Thomas.

Once the last of the crates had been loaded, the ship sounded it's horn and it departed. As it left, the captain of the other ship came down to speak with the foreman, "so where is Thomas? I thought he was suppose to be loaded up onto my boat."

"Isn't your ship known as the Crystal Boat?"

"No!" snapped the Captain, "mine is the Province of Ontario, since that's where we're going."

"Uh oh," groaned the foreman.

He ran back into his office and got out his radio. He called to the Crystal Boat's captain, "you're taking a wrong piece of cargo, Thomas is not meant for your ship. Turn back now! Over!" But there was no response. The ship's radio was broken, so the captain couldn't have known the whole ordeal. The foreman called him again and again, but still got no response.

"I think I'm about to lose my job," he groaned. "The Fat Controller won't be pleased when he hears about this."

Unaware of the mix-up, Thomas was enjoying himself. Although he was in a cargo bay of a ship, he could still see the bright blue skies above him, and at night, he could see the wonderous shining stars. He also had the captain's cat to keep him company, and a few crew members came down to see him.

Soon the ship came to a big harbour, Thomas thought he had arrived at the port in Toronto Ontario, "alright, let's see how much has changed since my last visit."

Thomas had been sent to Toronto in 2005 to take part in a Santa parade, and had enjoyed himself that day, but he only saw a little bit of the city before returning to Sodor.

A crane hook came down and the workers made sure all was ready.

"Okay, lift him up!" called one of the workers.

"Fine whatever!" snapped the voice of the crane.

Thomas rolled his eyes, he had dealt with unfriendly cranes before. As he was lifted out, he shouted; "hello Toronto, I'm back!" But to his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he found the surrondings completely different from what he had seen before. "Bust my boiler, Toronto sure has changed since my last visit."

"Toronto?!" cried the crane, "this isn't Toronto you daft engine, this is Tokyo Japan, and you are at the end of my hook!"

"Tokyo Japan?" cried Thomas, "but how..." then he remembered, "oh no, the forms got soaked when the foreman tripped. He must have placed me on the wrong ship. Oh dear, what a predicament I'm in again."


	2. Book 1 Story 2-Street Running

Part 2 of 4. Not to say except that in this story, you'll get reintroduced to an old friend from the first two versions of the Railway Series/Shuffle, and one of the Shuffle characters gets mentioned in here. See if you can guess who that girl is.

 _ **Street Running**_

THUNK! Thomas' wheels hit the rails hard, "ouch!" he cried, "be careful up there, I'm over ninty years old you know." The Crane above sorted and went back to work. Thomas' crew soon joined him on the pier, and they too were in shock.

"How in Sodor's name did we end up in Japan?" asked the fireman.

"You got me," said the Driver. "It's impossible to mix up two ships with two different names. Unless..." he thought back to what happened at the harbour, "the clipboard. When it fell, it must've gotten soaked and ruined the name on the forms."

"Clumsy fool, just wait till I see him again," grumbled the fireman.

"I'm sure it was just an accident, it could've happened to anyone."

Just then, an important looking man came over in a fancy suit. He took one look at Thomas and gave a puzzling look, "you're not our new engine, what are you doing here?"

"It's a rather long story," explained the Driver.

He and the fireman explained everything. As they did so, Thomas spotted another steam engine coming into the dockyards. She was painted black with white lining and had a plate which read 'CJR No 1'. The engine also had a wheel arrangement of two front wheels, six driving wheels and two back wheels.

"Hello there, who are you?" asked Thomas.

"I'm Courtney, one of the engines of this railway, and you I'm sure are Thomas the Tank Engine."

Thomas was surprised, "you know me?"

"Duh, of course I know you. Everyone in Japan knows you. Your television show and books can found in any city in this country, not to mention that I see little kids with toy trains that look just like you. But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on Sodor?"

"That's my crew is explaining right now."

"...and with the papers wet," said the Driver, "everything got mixed up and that's how we ended up here."

"I see," said the important looking man in the suit. "Well I suppose moments like this can happen. Sadly, that ship you just came in on is not heading to Canada or Sodor, I'll need to check to see which one will be going to either place. Till then," he continued, "the railway could use some help as we're short one engine and our new tank engine has not arrived yet."

"New tank engine?" Thomas asked.

"Oh yes, former Pennsylvania No 2469 was recently bought for the railway, but it appears he's been delayed, so I hope you don't mind helping out."

Thomas thought about it, then agreed to help, "it's better than sitting around doing nothing."

"Excellent, Courtney here will show you what to do." The man was about to leave, but stopped and added, "welcome to the Central Japan Railway." He then left for his office.

Courtney lead Thomas down to a little yard where they found loads of trucks waiting to be used. Some had the american style knuckle couplings while others had chains.

"Why does your railway have such a huge collection of trucks?" Thomas asked.

"It's because we have several engines in the fleet," explained Courtney. "There are three british tender engines, a tank engine attached to a coach working a branch line, and a chinese built QJ, now that's a big fellow I can tell you. Along with our new tank engine, we're due to get our own No 2, which is a replica of a D60 steam engine."

"A replica? But wouldn't it be better to use one of the surviving engines?" Thomas asked.

"Possibly, but they are three foot gauge and we're standard gauge. No 2 and I are replicas of Japanese National Railway steam engines, having been built during this decade of the 21st century."

Courtney's Driver interupted, "that will do Courtney, that goods train needs to go."

Courtney felt silly. Sometimes she had a tendacy to go on and on. She told Thomas which trucks he had to take and the Driver gave the crew her mobile GPS so they would know of where to go.

"Blimey that's a long way's off," exclaimed Thomas' Driver.

"Oh well, I could use a long run to strecth my wheels," smiled Thomas.

He was coupled up to the trucks and slowly made his way out of the dockyards. Courtney called out to him, "careful as you go Thomas! Our lines run through the city streets, you'll have to blow your whistle to warn others you are there!"

Courtney wasn't kidding. The tracks ran right through the streets, and Thomas found himself blowing his whistle alot more than he would on Sodor. Cars, buses and lorries stayed away from him, but there were some that drove too close.

"Hey back off!" cried Thomas and blew an emergency whistle. That would scare the drivers and they would drive away.

It was exhausting going through the city streets, but he found that going through the city, he could see tall skyscrapers that towered over him and there were plenty of beautiful bridges. He also passed other railways that carried either electric trains or the high speed trains through the city and into other areas of Japan.

After some time, Thomas reached a plaza where several workmen were waiting for him.

"Oh good, the supplies for the shops. Thank you so much," they said. However they spoke in Japanese, and Thomas couldn't understand them. The trucks translated for him, then laughed rudely.

"Sodor or Japan, it doesn't matter, trucks will be trucks," grumbled Thomas to himself.

He was soon on his way back to the docks. Since there was no way to turn him, Thomas had to go back down the line bunker first. His Driver kept a good look out, and kept blowing the whistle to warn others. Thomas was worried, he had dealt with drivers going over the crossings in the past when they're not suppose to, but those moments were not as scary as street running.

He was almost to the docks when suddenly, "look out!" cried a voice.

The Driver had looked away for a second to attend to the controls, and when he heard that voice, he looked back and saw a lorry had stopped at a set of traffic lights, leaving the trailer across the tracks.

"Oh blimey!" he cried. He slammed on the brakes and blew the whistle hard, hoping the Driver would move the lorry out of the way.

Sadly, the Driver didn't. Thomas shut his eyes. Moments later, he cried out as his back end hit the lorry with a crash. Pieces of the trailer flew everywhere, but thankfully the lorry driver was okay and so was his dog. Thomas continued on for half a mile before finally coming to a stop. His Driver and fireman inspected his back-end and groaned, "well that's torn it," said the fireman, "your buffer beam is bent out of shape, you'll need to be repaired before going back to work."

Thomas groaned, then he looked to his Driver, "I thought you were keeping a good look out."

"I was, but I have to attend to the controls too Thomas, so I was looking at them when I heard a little girl's voice cry out. Sorry about that though, hopefully the Central Japan can help repair you."

Thomas certainly hoped so. Still, he was glad no one was seriously hurt, and wanted to thank the little girl for warning them. As he looked around though, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"She couldn't have just disappeared," he thought to himself, "who was she?"

I'm afraid that for you and me, that will have to wait till later.

 _This story was inspired by the street running many railroads in america either still do to this day, or did many years back. The accident is based on a real life incident involving an Amtrak passenger train where a semi-truck stopped over a railway crossing due to a red light. An Amtrak Passenger train cut the trailer into several pieces, but like in the story, the Driver and her dog got out alive. No one was seriously hurt._


	3. Book 1 Story 3-The Sushi Train

Part 3 of 4. In this story, we get introduced to several new characters. As recalled in the previous story, there are three other tenders, other than Courtney and a Steam Coach engine on one of the branch lines. Bryant the GWR 2800 engine is a fan-made character created by: D.J. Scales and used with permission. Now before we begin, the King class engine shown here is fan-made, but there will be a story explaining how he got his name, just don't ask of when that will come out.

 _ **The Sushi Train**_

Thomas was sent down to the works to be repaired. The Works was located at a place called Kawagoe, which was a famous location for visitors coming to see the big city of Tokyo. When Thomas arrived, he was amazed by the size of the works building, it was almost twice the size of Crovan's Gate works and had at least four tracks leading into the building.

On one track was an engine covered up, but Thomas could tell it was the Railway's new No 2. There was also another engine in the works, a Fowler 4F, which looked similar to James' television series model, only without the front bogie wheels and had a black livery.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Sodor's own No 1 tank engine," gasped the 4F tender engine, "or are you a replica?"

"No I'm the original Thomas."

The engine looked at Thomas very carefully, "yeah you're definetly the original Thomas alright. I've seen replicas and although they have your smile and blue paint, many don't look like a LBSC's E2, but what are you doing here?"

"I was put on the wrong boat and until the Central Japan's new tank engine arrives, I can't leave for Sodor. As for my arrival right now, I had a minor accident while running through the streets."

The engine understood, "my tender recently suffered some damage from street running, that's why I'm here." She then chuckled, "truth be told, you can't really call yourself a Central Japan engine without at least having one accident during street running."

"You mean you've all had accidents."

"Oh yes, we all have..." then it suddenly hit her, "silly me, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Shannon, and I was the third engine to arrive on the railway in 2005."

Thomas smiled, "Well it's nice to meet you Shannon."

The driver and fireman dropped the fire and went to phone the controller. As workmen began their work, Shannon started telling Thomas about the engines of the railway.

"Cheng was our second engine to arrive in 2004, just before his railway was due to retire him. He's a big fella that towers over a person or engine, and he's always quick to jump into action when needed. Then there's Marigold, she's our steam coach engine."

"I remember those engines, they were a tank engine attached to a coach."

"Yes, that's excatly what she is, and she's very proud to run the branch lines of our railway, which connect to many of the smaller towns along the region. Though I do wonder if she gets lonely working there all alone."

"I know I would," Thomas muttered to himself.

"We also have two Great Western engines on our railway. One is a 2800 class engine named Bryant, I believe they were the engines that brought the idea of 2-8-0's to England." Shannon's expression then changed, "and then there's our King Class engine."

"You lot have a King?"

"Yes, and sadly the name goes straight to his funnel and gives us quite a headache. King Boris is his name, one of the last Great Western Kings to be built, and is rather vain. He finds tank engines annoying and believes goods work below his standards."

Now it was Thomas' turn to have his expression change, "I know that engine. When I was working as Station Pilot till 1946, I met many engines from the Other Railway and he was one of them. Apart from 98462 and 87546, he was one of the rudest engines I've ever met."

"Well if you ever cross his path, watch out for his attitude Thomas, he's bound to complain."

Sadly, Shannon was right. At the sheds near the dockyards, King Boris was complaining, "all those silly children today were making so much noise that I couldn't hear myself think, and to add to my misery, I got held up due to a street running accident. Caused by a replica of that silly blue powder-puff from the television show."

"That powder-puff as you call him is the _real_ Thomas," snapped Courtney. "And he couldn't help it, you know what the city streets are like for us engines."

"Street Running accidents could happen to any engine," added Bryant, "it's no one's fault. It's only your fault if you go out to hit them on purpose, which you would never dare."

"I would if they were holding me up."

The engines were horrified, "how dare you!" snapped Courtney. "I've never heard such horrible dumb words come out of a baka's mouth."

"Baka?! Baka?! What does that word mean?"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "I've told you this before, it means 'Idiot' in Japanese."

King Boris' face went red, but before he could snap, a figure came forward to speak with the engines. It was the man in the suit, more commonly known to many as The Japanese Controller.

"As you are all well aware," he began, "every mouth, we arrange for a special train to thank the people of this city for helping to get us started more than five years ago. Tomorrow, I want one of you to take the Sushi Train."

"Well you'll never catch me pulling that stupid train, it would ruin my image," snorted King Boris.

"Oh please, any of our regular trains would ruin your image," snapped Courtney.

"Silence, both of you!" snapped the Japanese Controller. "I do not approve of childish arguments, so please stop it!" Both engines went quiet at once. "Good, now King Boris, since you spoke first, you will take the train tomorrow."

"What?!" exclaimed King Boris.

"Uh Sir, what about me?" asked Cheng, "not since my arrival have I taken the Sushi Train."

"Well maybe next time you'll get to pull it Cheng," smiled the Japanese Controller. "However tomorrow, you will be taking the express. Bryant, you will be doubleheading with Thomas once he's repaired, and Courtney, you've got goods duties."

"Yes Sir," said all the engines, except for King Boris.

Early the next morning, King Boris was sleeping when he felt the warmth of a fire spreading through his boiler. Then he heard his Driver say; "wake up old boy, it's time to collect the Sushi Train."

"I am not pulling that train and that's final!"

"You listen to me," she snapped, "it's the Controller's orders for you to take that train, and if you don't, our grand tradition will be ruined and we'll get many unhappy faces. Now let's go!"

Still grumbling, King Boris was moved outside the shed and onto the turntable. He tried slipping his brakes on and refusing to move, but his Driver won that battle and drove him over to the docks.

The Sushi Train's trucks are not like regular trucks, for these had been painted by the residants of Tokyo and each had the name 'Sushi Train' in Japanese symbols. The trucks took great pride in their liveries and cargo, but they are still troublemakers when they need to be. Shannon and Bryant have earned their respect over time, but King Boris had always had trouble with these trucks.

He slowly backed up to them, but just a foot away, he reversed too quickly and bashed them hard.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" they cried.

"Boris, stop that!" snapped his Driver.

"That's _King_ Boris! And I do what I want, you got that?!"

His Driver rolled her eyes and sighed unhappily. The trucks were not pleased at being bumped, "who's he to bump us around like that? We are important trucks to the railway. Let's pay him out."

The trucks giggled and passed the word down to the others.

Thomas soon returned to the yards and was being introduced to the other engines. Courtney was going to ask him how No 2 was coming along, when they heard a loud whistle. It was King Boris, puffing away with the Sushi train.

"Be careful with those trucks Boris, you are carrying important cargo!" called Courtney.

"That's KING Boris!" snapped the King Class engine.

From his position, Thomas could tell that soon, all would not be well with the King Class engine. "I hope you lot have a crane, you might need it real soon."

"Trucks, they're stupid things," grumbled King Boris as he puffed through the City Streets. "They are smelly, they are ugly, and really not suitable for an engine of my design. A design which surpasses all of my lower class siblings before me."

"You'll insult anyone won't you?" snapped the fireman, "now pay attention, we still got a way's to go before we reach the plaza."

But King Boris payed no attention. The trucks knew this and decided to have a little fun.

They were less than a couple miles away when suddenly, "give him the push!" cried the lead truck. "ON! ON! ON!" giggled the others and pushed hard aganist King Boris' tender.

"Hey! Stop that you stupid little buggers!" But they didn't stop, they just kept pushing. "I said stop you little buggers! I am a King!"

"You can give all the demands you want, but we won't listen to you, your higness," they giggled in their stupid way.

The Driver braked hard, but the brakes were useless aganist the trucks. Cars, buses and lorries cleared out of the way as the King class engine flashed by, whistling fit to burst.

At the plaza, one of the shop owners was looking at her watch, "the train should be here soon."

TOOT! TOOT!

"There it is," she smiled, but then it faded. "They sure are whistling alot, we know they are on their way." She looked in the distance, "uh, should they going at that high rate of speed?"

"No they shouldn't," cried another shop owner. He turned to the crowds and shouted; "Get out of the way! It's a Runaway train!"

Everyone cleared away from the shops and the street. King Boris meanwhile was still ordering to the trucks to stop. It would've been better if he had been focusing on trying to stop. He rounded a bend and started to tilt over.

"Oh no, don't fall! Don't fall!"

But he did. He fell onto his side and skidded along on the street, and straight into a local resturant before finally coming to a stop.

"My resturant!" cried the owner. She ran up to the King class engine, waving her fist at him, "you dumb baka! I spent months working on everything in there, and here you come ruining it all."

"It's stupid anyways," snorted King Boris.

The woman continued to take her anger out on King Boris. Meanwhile, other people went to check on the Driver and fireman, who jumped clear before the crash. The fireman had a sprained leg, and the Driver had dislocated her right arm, but other than that, they were fine. As for the people that had been waiting for the Sushi Train, they were alright too, just scared out of their wits.

The Japanese Controller was in his office when the call came through, "hello? Oh dear, a major accident in the food district? Uh-huh, okay, and which engine was it that caused the accident?"

After the phone call, the Japanese Controller went to see the self propelled steam crane named Nora.

"King Boris has had an accident and we need to clean up the mess."

"We're on it Sir."

Workmen climbed into the coach behind her, then they set off through the city streets.

When they arrived, they, along with the residants and owners of the shops and resturants worked together to clean up the mess. One truck had been damaged and the Sushi inside was ruined, though they weren't as bad as Boris, who's entire right side was damaged beyond belief.

"Stupid tracks, they need to be made to my standards," grumbled King Boris.

"Those tracks are fine, it's you that's not," snapped the Japanese Controller. "I know you hate trucks and taking trains like this, but this is no way to get out of taking them."

"It wasn't my fault, they pushed me."

"But you did give them a reason to push you," said Bryant, who had been called away from passenger workings. "Your bumping them and calling them rude names doesn't help matters."

"Oh shut up!"

The Japanese Controller held up his hand for silence, "I am disappointed in you King Boris, I thought you would know better than this. Now we must pay for the damage done here and alot of people won't be getting their Sushi today."

"It's a silly train anyways."

The Japanese Controller looked like he was going to explode in anger, but he calmed himself down and spoke firmly to King Boris, "you will have to go to the works to be mended, and while you are there, we will take away your nameplates, your 'King' title and have you painted dark blue. _That_ should make you see sense."

"What?! But Sir, you can't do that to me!"

"I can and I will. You keep this up, and you'll become a source of spare parts for the other engines. Do I make myself clear on this?"

"Yes Sir," groaned Boris and went silent for once.

The Japanese Controller shook his head, "You've already disgraced the man you were named after, don't disappoint me again." He turned on his heel and went to speak with the resturant manager.

Meanwhile, Thomas was working alone on the passenger train. He was pulling three old coaches that were built around the same time as Annie and Clarabel. They were very friendly and were eager to talk with Thomas.

As he puffed along, Thomas heard a 'Hello!' He gasped as he recongized the voice.

"That's her! That's the girl who warned us yesterday!"

He quickly looked and saw that the little girl had light purple hair with two pony tails. He wanted to ask her her name, but he was already too far off to speak to her properly. Would he get to meet her? Well, you'll have to wait for the next story to know for sure.


	4. Book 1 Story 4-The Little Heroine

Well my friends, here is the fourth story for Book 1 of the New Railway Series Shuffle, I hope you've all enjoyed this book and I promise you that I will get the second book out sometime in the next couple months before New Years. Also, one thing to point out is that the meet with 'the Littlest Heroine' is different from the other versions to make it more original, and yes she will return in Book 2. One more note is that Bryant is a character created by D.J. Scales and used with permission.

 _ **The Littlest Heroine**_

Shannon was having a nap at the works when she heard a whistle. She opened her eyes and saw Bryant shoving King Boris into the building. The king class engine said nothing to Shannon.

"Should I even ask of what happened this time?" Shannon asked Bryant.

"Don't bother, it'll be in the papers as of tomorrow, and I'm sure someone will read it to you," answered the 2800 class engine. "He did quite a bit of damage near some resturants, didn't you Boris?" But still the King Class said nothing.

The workmen uncoupled Bryant from King Boris, then the Great Western engine puffed off to collect some trucks. The workmen turned their attention back to the damaged King, "now let's get that nameplate off you."

Boris' face showed how horrified he was for this punishment. He didn't feel so grand now.

The rest of the day went by without incident, and the engines soon returned to the sheds for a rest. Tonight, there were only four of them; Thomas, Courtney, Bryant and Cheng.

"I hope Shannon's repairs are completed soon," said Bryant, "otherwise we're really going to struggle."

Cheng was quick to agree, but then showed an angry look, "we wouldn't be falling behind if that stupid engine Boris didn't bump the Sushi Train's trucks. Every engine knows that bumping trucks can only lead to trouble. He's lucky enough not to seriously harm anyone or worse."

"Not unless you count his crew that had to jump out before the crash."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about them."

Courtney rolled her eyes, "and just last night, he was complaining about Thomas' street running incident, yet he goes flying off the tracks and does some serious damage to the shops, and our lines."

"Speaking of my accident," Thomas piped up, "I think I found the girl that warned my crew and I about the lorry yesterday."

"Oh really?" Bryant asked with a raised eyebrow, "Did you get her name?"

Thomas sighed, "sadly not. She never goes to any of the stations, and I only saw her standing on the sidewalk as I was puffing through the city once."

"Well what does she look like?" Courtney asked, "maybe one of us knows that girl and we can help you to find her."

Thomas thought back to when he saw her, "she's young, properly no more than fifteen by my guess. She has purple hair, two pony tails, and she had a blue shirt under a black jacket and she wore a purple skirt with stars on it."

The engines all thought of the people they know, but no names came to mind.

"She must be new here," said Bryant, "cause we all know everyone in the city and pretty much all of Japan. Well, except for Boris of course, he doesn't take much notice to anyone."

Thomas looked down sadly to the rails.

"Don't worry Thomas, you'll see her again," Courtney said kindly, "then you can talk to her and thank her for warning you."

"I hope so Courtney, I sure hope so."

The next morning, Thomas went to the coach yards to pick up the three old coaches. They were named Nadoka, Layla and Ayumi. Nadoka and Layla were very much like Annie and Clarabel with sweet, kind personalities. Ayumi was kind too, but she was not afraid to speak her mind if something was bothering her.

Thomas buffered up slowly to the coaches and was coupled up. He was about ready to leave when the Japanese Controller came to see him.

"I just recieved a message from the ship bringing our new engine, and they say he should arriving within the next two days," he said to Thomas. "Once he's arrived, we'll be able to send you back to Sodor."

"Thank you Sir," said Thomas. "Uh sir, do you know of a young purple haired girl?" Thomas then went on to explain why he was looking for the girl.

"There are alot of girls like that Thomas, but none are coming to mind. Sorry."

"It's alright Sir."

With a toot of his whistle, Thomas puffed over to the station.

His run that day was to take him to a junction just outside the city, at a place called Hachoki. It was here where Thomas would meet Marigold, the steam coach engine for the first time.

The excited passengers climbed aboard, and once the guard had blown his whistle, Thomas slowly puffed out of the station. As he puffed away, he could hear some of the passengers in Nadoka singing a tune, which of course was in Japanese.

"What are they saying?" Thomas asked.

"They're singing the very first song to ever be heard on your television program," explained Nadoka. "I hear many residants love that song."

Even though he couldn't understand the words, he did hum along with the passenger's tune.

All went well at first. Thomas pulled the coaches as smoothly as he would with Annie and Clarabel. The sun was shining brightly, and today there wasn't a single car or lorry driving in front of him, or dangerously beside him. They even passed the junction where King Boris had derailed the day before without incident.

"All the stars must alined for us today," commented the driver. "We keep this up and we'll reach Hachoki in no time."

But they wouldn't arrive on time.

Still keeping his eyes open for trouble, Thomas heard a voice that sounded familar, "Stop! Stop! Your tracks are missing!"

"Driver, brake now!" Thomas cried.

The driver applied the brakes and the train skidded to a stop. It was a good thing they did, for one of the rails that should've been in front of Thomas were not there at all. All that was left was the groove in which the rail had sat in originally.

"Well that's torn it," groaned Thomas' Driver, "we can't go anywhere now. We'll have to phone for a bus."

"Must be the work of thieves," said the fireman. "They'll steal anything they can get their hands on, don't you agree Thomas?" But he got no reply from his engine. "Uh Thomas, are you going to say anything?"

Thomas didn't hear him, for he was staring at the very person who had warned him for the second time. It was the little girl with purple hair and two pony tails. She also had short pointy ears, like an elf, but Thomas didn't notice these just yet.

"Uh, thank you," Thomas said to the girl, "you really saved us from a nasty accident."

"It's the least I could do," said the girl quietly.

Meanwhile, the Driver was making a call to the Japanese Controller on his mobile phone. He was upset to hear about the missing rail, and promised to send a bus. However, minutes later, he called the Driver back.

" _There will be no need for a bus, there are workmen not too far off with a spare rail,_ " he said over the phone. " _They only have a Chariot, but say they can get there in no time._ "

"Okay thank you Sir," said the Driver. He then turned to the little girl, "our engine said it best, you saved us, thank you little girl."

"I'm sure her name isn't 'Little Girl'," Thomas chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "What is your name?"

"My name is Primula," she answered.

"Well thanks again Primula. I'm sure your family will be proud of you when they heard how you prevented a nasty accident."

Primula looked down to the ground unhappily, "I can't find my family, I don't even know if they are here in this city."

"You mean, you're lost?" Thomas was surprised to hear this. Primula nodded unhappily. Thomas felt sorry for her, then he came up with an idea, "why don't you come with us? We might be able to help you find your family."

"You'd really let me ride with you?"

"Of course, as long as it's okay with my Driver and fireman."

Thomas looked down to his crew for their response; "well of course she can ride with us," said the Driver. The fireman nodded to that. "But it will be rather uncomfortable in there. Unlike tender engines, tank engines like Thomas don't have seats or alot of space."

"That's okay, anything's better than standing around here on my own."

She walked over and climbed into Thomas' cab, just as a shunter's truck, known to railway workers as a Chariot came into view. On the truck were some workers and a long piece of rail, which was hanging beyond the ledges of the truck.

"Lucky for you we had this rail," one of the workers said. "We thought we would be using it in a different spot, but I guess we'll be using it here."

"Thank goodness for extra pieces," said the fireman.

Police soon came on the scene and directed traffic around the stranded train. Primula didn't say anything during that time, she didn't even hum a tune to herself.

"You sure are a quiet kid aren't you?" asked the Driver.

But Primula said nothing.

At last, the rail was put into place. The workers moved their Chariot out of the way, then everyone watched as Thomas puffed over the replaced rail. He and the coaches got over it safely, and they puffed away to make up for lost time.

Marigold had to wait at the junction for twenty minutes. She grumbled like anything, but understood it was out of Thomas' control. At last, the blue tank engine came into view.

"Blasted thieves stealing rails," grumbled Marigold. "King Boris' accident would've been the least of our worries if you came off the tracks. Don't these thieves ever think about their actions?"

"I guess they don't," Thomas muttered.

The passengers changed trains, and with a toot of her whistle, Marigold puffed away for the destinations of Mt. Takao-san and places in Kanagawa.

As the day wore on, there were no distrubances on the railway and every train ran to perfect time.

When the day was done, Thomas puffed back to the sheds with his little friend still riding in his cab.

"Is that the girl that saved you?" Bryant asked. Primula nodded her head, "well now, she's a real hero, and if I may admit this, she is rather cute. Still," he paused and changed his expression to a firm look, "Shouldn't she be with her family?"

"She can't find her family," Thomas replied. He looked back to Primula, "how did you get seperated from them anyways?"

"I didn't. I came here alone in the hopes of finding them, but now I can't." Small tears could be seen coming from her eyes. Thomas' Driver gave her a tissue to wipe away the tears. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.

The engines and their crews were quite surprised to hear that Primula arrived in the city alone. It was quite mysterious,, they wondered of just where she actually came from.

"Well Primula, I personally promise you that we will help you find your family," smiled Thomas.

"That's right," agreed Courtney. "You can count on all of us to help you."

Primula looked to all the cheerful engines and showed a tiny smile, "thank you."

It was decided that to help her find her family, Primula would work for the railway. She would ride in an engine's cab, and while doing whatever job she needed to do, she could look out for them. Also, since she had no place to call home, the Japanese Controller, once told of everything, agreed that she could stay in the sheds with the engines at night.

"You can also keep an eye open for troublemakers," he said to her. "Can I count on you to do that?"

"Yes Sir, you can count on me," Primula said with a salute.

"Very good young lady," chuckled the Controller, "and if all goes well, who knows, maybe you'll earn a full time job with the railway."

The railway employees found some old books to use as a matress, bought some blankets from nearby shops and even got an old pillow to act as her bed. Primula didn't mind that it was home-made, it was better than sleeping on stones or concrete.

"We will help you Primula," Thomas thought to himself. Then sighed unhappily as he remembered the Japanese Controller's words about his new engine, "for as long as I'm on the railway that is."

 _Thomas' near miss incident is based on a real life event in 1966. An area manager was informed of a broken rail between Evesham and Pershore. Just like in the story, the workers brought along a new section of rail on a shunter's truck, more commonly known as a Chariot. It did hang over the edges of the truck, but they got it to the site without incident, replaced the rail and surprisingly, all trains ran to perfect time after that._


End file.
